That actually is the difference I was alluding to - we had that expectation. This year we do not have any expectation. I take your point on a rules change or any player forcing his way out - but again, those are not things that I, at least, expect to happen. I recognize they could happen, but I don't expect them in the same way I expected the roster to shuffle when Gerard came in. And, BTW, I am not suggesting that stability would be a bad thing here. With all the changes last year, it would be nice to see what this unit can actually do if it gels and Bruce figures out how to get the most out of it.
Just wait till MLS adds more funny money and the new "super secret double probation DP rule" sometime in April.
True, but Gio's move to the wing is fairly recent (like this off-season) and seems to represent a proper tactical shift for this year. Importantly, Gio's move out wide coincides with Bruce's decision to bring in Cole and beef up the overlap on the right side. So it almost seems a bit more like this midfield 4: Gerrard Lletget - Gio De Jong whereas previously we had: Donovan-Sarvas-Juni-Ishizaki Definitely Donovan and Ishi operated more like traditional wingers than either Lletget or Gio tend to (Donovan did play more like an AM from the left, but could get wide and cross from there, too). Maybe this is just the culmination of what Arena's been trying to do for some time; I think where Zardes ends up playing most and how much time Boateng gets will be really telling as they are really the only guys who can fill in as proper wide wing players.